Welcome to Life Group. We invite you to join
us in this verse -by -verse study through the
Word of God. In this lesson, we'll be looking
at Romans chapters 9 -11. In the first eight
chapters of Romans, Paul taught about man's need
for salvation and God's provision in Jesus through
the Holy Spirit. But here in these chapters,
9 -11, there's a slight shift in focus. Here,
Paul addresses issues related to Israel's condition.
And we see the question, what are the implications
of Israel missing the Messiah? In these chapters,
they deal with a few key points. We see Israel
as a nation. We see them dealing with how God's
redemptive plan unfolds. We see the inclusion
of Gentiles. and the importance of responding
in faith. So let's begin picking up with Romans
9 verse 1. With Christ as my witness, I speak
with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the
Holy Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with
bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people,
my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing
to be forever cursed. cut off from Christ if
that would save them. They are the people of
Israel, chosen to be God's adopted children.
God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants
with them and gave them his law. He gave them
the privilege of worshiping him and receiving
his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an
Israelite. as far as his human nature is concerned.
And he is God, the one who rules over everything
and is worthy of eternal praise. Amen. In these
verses, we see Paul is grieved over Israel, not
because God rejected Israel, but because Israel
rejected Jesus as the Messiah. When it came to
ministry, the Jews were Paul's worst enemies.
They harassed and persecuted him from town to
town, stirring up lies and violence against him.
But even then, he still loved them and was deeply
concerned about their souls, and we see that.
Verse 6. Well then, has God failed to fulfill
his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are
born into the nation of Israel are truly members
of God's people. Being descendants of Abraham
doesn't make them truly Abraham's children. For
the scriptures say, Isaac is the son through
whom your descendants will be counted, though
Abraham had other children too. This means that
Abraham's physical descendants are not necessarily
children of God. Only the children of the promise
are considered to be Abraham's children. For
God had promised. I will return about this time
next year, and Sarah will have a son. These verses
show that not all who are born into the nation
of Israel are truly members of God's people.
But they also show that God always intended his
people to be defined by faith, not by their race
and not by their works. Picking up in verse 10.
This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married
Rebecca, she gave birth to twins. But before
they were born, before they had done anything
good or bad, she received a message from God.
This message shows that God chooses people according
to his own purposes. He calls people, but not
according to their good or bad works. She was
told, Your older son will serve your younger
son. In the words of the scriptures, I love Jacob,
but I rejected Esau. So we see here that we must
keep in mind the omniscience and foreknowledge
of God. God knew the future choices and responses
of people who would be or not be in the lineage
of Jesus. And when we track the stories, we see
that God always showed patience and mercy. For
instance, Esau rebelled against God. He despised
his birthright. He marries outside of God's commands.
And what we need to realize is that, no, God
did not predetermine these choices, but in his
omniscience, in his foreknowledge, he knew Esau
would make them. Another important thing to note
is that English translations put that God loved
Jacob but rejected or hated Esau. But in Hebrew,
that word rejected or hated really means preferred
less. Two, it's important to note that this quote
was written hundreds of years after Esau's death
in Malachi 1 verses 2 through 3. So we see here
that God, in his foreknowledge, he preferred
Jacob over Esau to be in the lineage of Jesus.
Verse 14. Are we saying then that God was unfair?
Of course not. For God said to Moses, I will
show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show
compassion to anyone I choose. So it is God who
decides to show mercy. We can neither choose
it, nor work for it. For the scriptures say that
God told Pharaoh, I have appointed you for the
very purpose of displaying my power in you and
to spread my fame throughout the earth. So you
see, God chooses to show mercy to some and he
chooses to harden the hearts of others so they
refuse to listen. So these verses share a word
called hardened. And what does hardened mean?
Hardened means that God allowed Pharaoh to continue
to walk in the stubbornness Pharaoh had already
chosen. Verse 19. Well then, you might say, why
does God blame people for not responding? Haven't
they simply done what he makes them do? No, don't
say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to
argue with God? Should the thing that was created
say to the one who created it, Why have you made
me like this? When a potter makes jars out of
clay, doesn't he have a right to use the same
lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and
another to throw garbage into? In the same way,
even though God has the right to show his anger
and his power, he is very patient with those
on whom his anger falls. who are destined for
destruction. He does this to make the riches
of his glory shine even brighter on those to
whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance
for glory. And we are among those whom he selected,
both from the Jews and from the Gentiles. We
see in these verses that the potter analogy is
about nations and roles, not every specific individual.
God used Israel to bring salvation to all. Picking
up in verse 25. There they will be called children
of the living God. And concerning Israel, Isaiah
the prophet cried out, And Isaiah said the same
thing in another place. If the Lord of Heaven's
armies had not spared a few of our children,
we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed
like Gomorrah. What does all this mean? Even
though the Gentiles were not trying to follow
God's standards, they were made right with God.
And it was by faith that this took place. But
the people of Israel who tried so hard to get
right with God by keeping the law never succeeded.
Why not? Because they were trying to get right
with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting
in him. They stumbled over the great rock in
their path. God warned them of this in scriptures
when he said, I am placing a stone in Jerusalem
that makes people stumble, a rock that makes
them fall. But anyone who trusts in him will
never be disgraced. So we got to ask the question.
How did the Gentiles find righteousness when
many Jews did not? Well, the answer that these
passages show is because the Gentiles received
righteousness by faith. While the Jews continued
to pursue righteousness by trying to keep the
law, the Gentiles received righteousness by faith.
And everyone who will ever be right with God
will do so through faith, by being declared righteous.
The stone the Jews stumbled on was the very stone
of faith in Christ. Picking up with chapter 10,
verse 1. Dear brothers and sisters, the longing
of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people
of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm
they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal,
for they don't understand God's way of making
people right with himself. Refusing to accept
God's way, they cling to their own way of getting
right with God by trying to keep the law. For
Christ has already accomplished the purpose for
which the law was given. As a result, all who
believe in him are made right with God. Again,
we see that the issue is Israel's refusal to
receive righteousness by faith. They pursued
the law instead of trusting in Christ. Picking
up with verse 5. For Moses writes that the law's
way of making a person right with God requires
obedience to all of its commands. But faith's
way of getting right with God says, don't say
in your heart who will go up to heaven to bring
Christ down to earth, and don't say who will
go down to the place of the dead. To bring Christ
back to life again. In these verses we see that
the Messiah is not coming back to finish his
work of salvation. Jesus completed his work the
first time. And everything he accomplished is
now available to everyone who believes. Picking
up in verse 8. In fact, it says, the message
is very close at hand. It is on your lips and
in your heart. And that message is the very message
about faith that we preach. If you openly declare
that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved. For it is by believing in your heart that
you are made right with God. And it is by openly
declaring your faith that you are saved. As the
scriptures tell us, anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced. Jew and Gentile are
the same in this respect. They have the same
Lord who gives generously to all who call on
him. In these verses, we see that receiving God's
promises is always very close. Whether it's salvation
or any other promise of God, it's always very
close. It's in our hearts. and in our mouths
faith in the word or the message begins in the
heart but it must be acted on through confession
we see the process in the verses we just looked
at you you have to believe in the resurrection
you have to believe that jesus and his work on
the cross can make you right with god but then
you also have to act on that you have to confess
Jesus as your Lord. Verse 13. For everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
What an amazing verse. This is a clear invitation
for everyone. It's not limited or selective in
any way. Confession and belief are the faith
conditions that any human must respond to in
order to be saved. Verse 14. But how can they
call on him to save them unless they believe
in him? And how can they believe in him if they've
never heard about him? And how can they hear
about him unless someone tells them? And how
will anyone go and tell them without being sent?
This is why the scriptures say, how beautiful
are the feet of messengers who bring Good news.
In these verses, we see that there's a clear
command. We must share the gospel. People cannot
believe in Christ without hearing. We must share
the gospel. We must be involved in helping other
people share the gospel with those that we may
never meet face to face. Why? Because people
can't believe. without first hearing. Verse 16.
But not everyone welcomes the good news. For
Isaiah the prophet said, Lord, who has believed
our message? So faith comes from hearing, that
is, hearing the good news about Christ. The message
must be heard before it can be believed. This
is where we get what we say often. Faith comes
by hearing and hearing by the word of God. It
has to be a promise from God before it can be
believed on. And you have to hear it before you
can believe. Verse 18. But I ask, have the people
of Israel actually heard the message? Yes, they
have. The message has gone throughout the earth.
and the words to all the world. But I ask, did
the people of Israel really understand? Yes,
they did. For even in the time of Moses, God
said, And later, Isaiah spoke boldly for God,
saying, I was found by people who were not looking
for me. I showed myself to those who were not
asking for me. But regarding Israel, God said,
All day long I opened my arms to them, but they
were disobedient and rebellious. In these verses
we see that if people are lost, it's because
of something in the process. Either they didn't
hear, or they didn't believe when they heard,
or they would not confess Jesus as Lord after
they heard or believed. The gospel, the good
news, is offered genuinely and universally. Salvation
is possible, and it's offered to all, Jew and
Gentile alike. Chapter 11, verse 1. I ask then,
Has God rejected his own people, the nation of
Israel? Of course not. I myself am an Israelite,
a descendant of Abraham, and a member of the
tribe of Benjamin. No, God has not rejected his
own people, whom he chose from the very beginning.
Do you realize what the scriptures say about
this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about
the people of Israel and said, Lord, They have
killed your prophets and torn down your altars.
I am the only one left, and now they are trying
to kill me too. And do you remember God's reply?
He said, No, I have 7 ,000 others who have never
bowed down to Baal. It is the same today, for
a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful
because of God's grace, His undeserved kindness
in choosing them. And since it is through God's
kindness, then it is not by their good works.
For in that case, God's grace would not be what
it really is, free and undeserved. Here Paul
is saying, has God rejected Israel? And his answer
is, no, of course not. And they teach that there
has always been a faith remnant. And he gave
the example of Elijah. That there were 7 ,000
who had remained in faith. Verse 7. So this is
the situation. Most of the people of Israel have
not found the favor of God they are looking for
so earnestly. A few have, the ones God has chosen,
but the hearts of the rest were hardened. As
the scriptures say, God has put them into a deep
sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so
that they do not see and closed their ears so
that they do not hear. Likewise, David said,
Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap
that makes them think all is well. Let their
blessings cause them to stumble and let them
get what they deserve. Let their eyes go blind
so that they cannot see and let their backs be
bent forever. Did God's people stumble and fall
beyond recovery? Of course not. They were disobedient.
So God made salvation available to the Gentiles.
But He wanted His own people to become jealous
and claim it for themselves. Now if the Gentiles
were enriched because of the people of Israel
turned down God's offer of salvation, think how
much greater a blessing the world will share
when they finally accept it. I am saying all
this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed
me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this,
for I want somehow to make the people of Israel
jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might
save some of them. For since their rejection
meant that God offered salvation to the rest
of the world, Their acceptance will be even more
wonderful. It will be life for those who were
dead. And since Abraham and the other patriarchs
were holy, their descendants will also be holy.
Just as the entire batch of dough is holy because
the portion given as an offering is holy. For
if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches
will be too. The Jewish rejection of Jesus, and
these scriptures teach us that the Jewish rejection
of Jesus as Messiah did not cause Gentiles to
be saved. It just gave more opportunity for the
gospel to spread to the Gentiles. Many Gentiles
took advantage of this opportunity. Picking up
in verse 17. But some of these branches from
Abraham's tree Some of the people of Israel have
been broken off, and you Gentiles, who were branches
from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in.
So now you also receive the blessing of God has
promised Abraham and his children, sharing in
the rich nourishment from the root of God's special
olive tree. But you must not brag about being
grafted in to replace the branches that were
broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.
Well, you may say, those branches were broken
off to make room for me. Yes, but remember those
branches were broken off because they didn't
believe in Christ. And you are there because
you do believe. So don't think highly of yourself,
but fear what could happen. For if God did not
spare the original branches, he won't spare you
either. Notice how God is both kind and severe.
He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but
kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness.
But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut
off. And if the people of Israel turn from their
unbelief, they will be grafted in again. For
God has the power to graft them back into the
tree. You, by nature, were a branch cut from
a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do
something contrary to nature by grafting you
into his cultivated tree, he will be far more
eager to graft the original branches back into
the tree where they belong. So we see in these
verses that Israel was broken off because of
unbelief, and Gentiles were grafted in by faith.
And this all is said to show us that the human
response matters. Verse 25. I want you to understand
this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that
you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some
of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but
this will last only until the full number of
Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will
be saved. As the scriptures say, the one who
rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will
turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this is
my covenant with them, that I will take away
their sins. Many of the people of Israel are
now enemies of the good news, and this benefits
you Gentiles. Yet, there are still the people
he loves because he chose their ancestors. Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. For God's gifts and His call
can never be withdrawn. These verses do not mean
that there will be a time when every person of
Jewish descent will be saved. But they do explain
that there will be a time when the nation as
a whole, especially its leadership, will embrace
Jesus as the Messiah. Verse 30 Once you Gentiles
were rebels against God, but when the people
of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful
to you instead. Now they are rebels, and God's
mercy has come to you so that they too will share
in God's mercy. For God has imprisoned everyone
in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.
This phrase, imprisoned in disobedience, is referring
to the law, showing everyone their need for salvation.
Remember, as we looked at in previous chapters,
that the law imprisoned everyone in sin. And
that's what Paul is communicating here. And also
that grace is what sets us free from that sin.
And it's that same grace for the Jew and for
the Gentile. Picking up in verse 33. Oh, how
great are God's riches in wisdom and knowledge!
How impossible it is for us to understand His
decisions and His ways! For who can know the
Lord's thoughts? Who knows enough to give Him
advice? And who has given Him so much that He
needs to pay it back? For everything comes from
Him and exists by His power and is intended for
His glory. All glory to him forever. Amen. We
see in these verses that God's plan of redemption
from beginning to end is amazing. There is great
knowledge, wisdom, and compassion in his plan.
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